“Richard Harrison is head of space physics at the Rutherford-Appleton laboratory in Oxfordshire. He says the rate at which solar activity is falling mirrors a period in the 17th century where sunspots virtually disappeared.

“The Maunder Minimum of course was period when we saw almost no sunspots for decades, and it was a really dramatic period when we saw really cold winters in the northern hemisphere, where you had a kind of a mini-ice age.

“Rivers and canals froze across northern Europe….It wasn’t just the Thames that froze over. The Baltic Sea did too.

“Crop failures and famines were widespread across northern Europe.

“The sun does seem to be in a similar phase at it was during the run up to the Maunder Minimum,” says Lucy Green, at the Moloff Space Science Laboratory in the North Downs.

Fastest decline in solar activity in 10,000 years.

Professor Mike Lockwood says this is the fastest decline in solar activity in 10,000 years. “There’s a 20 percent probability that we could be back in Maunder conditions within 40 years,” says Lockwood.

Less solar activity seems to affect the behavior of the jet stream, says Lockwood. This ends up blocking warm air from reaching northern Europe, causing long, cold winters.

“Right now we’re at a peak of a solar cycle … but this solar cycle is eerily quiet.

Russ, It’s the solar wind that control’s the jet stream, and why we are getting the artic down flow of cold artic air from the north. The solar wind has not been strong enough to keep the jet stream up to the north. This link I would like to share with you, explains on how when pressure build’s up at the poles in the atmosphere the pressure has to go somewhere and where it go’s is right down to the south along with the jet stream. So that pressure pull’s down the jet stream. This happens only during weak solar cycles. This is why the jet stream has not been in a normal pattern for last winter, or this spring, or this past summer, or fall of this year. Here is the link http://climatechange1.wordpress.com/2010/12/19/the-solar-wind-shifts-in-the-atmosphere-climate-change/ Note that this was posted on 12/19/2010 by Erl Happ and Carl Wolk.

The missing link as to why the planet mars now has a thinner atmosphere in this point in time. If our atmosphere con-tracks during a weak solar cycle, and expands during a solar strong solar cycle. This also could explain as to why the planet venus has a much wider or thicker atmosphere than we have. Almost like blowing up a big hot air balloon and expanding the atmosphere. Conclusion; Hot sun expands the atmosphere, cold sun con-tracks the atmosphere. With that happing, the jet stream changes it’s pattern from what we thought was normal to what we are experiencing now during a weak solar cycle.

Thank you for your very informative site and articles. I love the truth, thus I love science and NOT politics. It is very unfortunate that for so many who refuse to look at ALL science when it come to the impacts on climate. This becomes Religion when any legitimate scientific studies are refused over a ‘preferred’, more popular belief system, just as those who held the earth was flat, and that our sun revolved around the earth. It is the most logical and OBVIOUS that the Sun is our culprit, and not a bunch of hot air from politicians and their agenda’s.

Mike Haseler commented : ” So instead they make up facts: It’s going to get colder – but that doesn’t mean the globe will get colder”

Scotty, looks like you have matured, bravo!!! only from an mature, intelligent person can get that comment! Only if the rest of the Skeptics can realize that: the globe is a big place – Warmist would start running for cover.

Unfortunately, until the ”skeptics” believe that: southern tip of Greenland is the globe.
2] as long as they cannot see that: Sahara and Brazil have SAME amount of CO2, but completely different climates = CO2 has nothing to do with the climate; but another molecule regulates the climate, TELL THEM WHICH ONE?!… Before that, the only harm they can give to the Warmist Organized Crime (WOC) is; Warmist will get a hernia from too much laughter from the phony skeptic’s global coolings and phony global warmings…
also; warmist can get hernia from carrying billions of taxpayer’s $$$$

How things in Scotland, Mike – are you getting suntan from the imaginary global warming? it’s good to get some vitamin D